The invention relates to a knee support for motor vehicles which is arranged inside the body of the motor vehicle in the area of a control panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,943 discloses a knee support, which is installed in a motor vehicle, is covered by a support wall of a control panel, and exhibits a shock absorbing bracket. The shock absorbing bracket is attached by means of retaining elements to a transverse frame member, which is connected to side frame structures. Impact energy-absorbing devices are provided between the shock absorbing bracket and the retaining elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,314 discloses a comparable knee support with a deformation element, which extends, as seen in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle, from the support wall of the control panel to the transverse frame member. The deformation element is designed along the line of a bracket and exhibits separate bracket walls, which are connected together by means of webs. The thickness of the bracket walls and of the webs varies. That is, it increases starting from the support wall as far as up to the transverse frame member.
The object of the present invention is to improve a deformation element of a knee support in such a manner that it performs a high degree of deformation work during a defined collision and is braced effectively against the body.
The advantages, achieved predominantly with the invention, lie in the fact that owing to the design of the hollow bracket segments and their arrangement in relation to each other, a deformation element is created that specifically absorbs deformation energy for the purpose of largely protecting the occupants of the motor vehicle who are sitting next to the control panel. In this respect, both hollow bracket segments are made compact and can be housed behind the control panel under typically crowded conditions at a reasonable cost. The contour of the bracket walls and the webs of the hollow bracket segments facilitate a reliable deformation behavior of the deformation element. The first and second hollow bracket segments are fitted together to form one component, which is made, for example, of light weight metal and by means of extrusion molding. However, there is also the possibility of forming the hollow bracket segments as multiple parts or of choosing another suitable material for them. Finally, the effect of the deformation element is optimized in such a manner that the transverse frame member, to which the second hollow bracket segment is attached, contributes to the energy absorption during collision-induced deformation of the deformation element.
One embodiment of the invention is depicted in the drawings and is explained in detail below.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.